The 2 1/2-year-old and a dozen other children from around the world were on hand to help the state's population grow during a ceremony to celebrate National Adoption Month.

Tammy Lee Yu wasn't even born when her parents, Nancy and Mike, began their adoption quest.

Now, seven years later, the Fairfield couple, who finally made the trip to southern China in April for a private adoption, have their daughter. And the state of Connecticut has another citizen.

Tammy Lee Yu -- Yu means "Jade" -- wore a bright red satin jacket as she perched in her father's arms, then took a front-row seat for the ceremony, which was sponsored by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Children from Korea, Brazil, Russia, Ghana, Haiti and India joined in the sometimes emotional event, which included an honor guard from the state Department of Correction and recollections from another adoptive parent: U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez.

It didn't take Martinez -- who adopted a boy from Colombia -- very long to shed a tear.

"I know many of you have traveled long journeys to be here today," Martinez said, "journeys through dreams and disappointments, wishing and waiting, paperwork and social workers, hotels and airports. I remember the wait that came after making the decision to adopt."

She recalled the advice of a friend with five adopted children. "She said, `You don't understand,' " Martinez recalled. "She said, `There's a soul out there who is your child. When all the stars move into position, then your child will come to your family.' And he did. He's in college. And so here, all of your children have come, at last, to your family."

Asked for some tips they can offer to prospective adoptive parents, the Lombardos -- who are in their early 40s and own Creative Insight, a New Canaan-based graphic design and advertising company -- said the most important thing is to decide the nation from which people would like to adopt.

"Every country has a different process," Nancy Lombardo said. "The United States is open adoption; Taiwan is actually open adoption, too, where they pick you. In China and other countries, you get a referral; you get a match that's based on your bio and your pictures, and they match you up with a child that best matches your biography. Amazingly, she's a perfect fit."

They did not use a lawyer, but the Family and Children's Agency in Norwalk arranged Tammy Lee Yu's adoption. It was supposed to take about 24 months, at the most.

Along the way, as the years mounted up, some prospective parents dropped out, but the Lombardos stuck with the process.

"There were at least 12 couples, and all of them, but one other couple either dropped out or went to another country," Nancy said. "It was mostly based on our faith in God and also that we knew she was out there and we're not giving up on her. We feel our family's complete now."

"Especially with China, you have to be patient," Mike Lombardo said. "The wait just seems to be more and more as the years go on."

Nancy Lombardo said that she hopes to begin taking Chinese-language classes with her daughter, to help Tammy Lee Yu retain some of her Asian roots.

"She's adjusted beautifully," Nancy said.

The other children who celebrated the occasion ranged in age from 2 to 12 years old, and they live throughout the state.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman pointed out that the United States is a nation of immigrants, and the adoptive children represent the next generation.

"All the kids here are going to be leaders in their own way, and they'll have the opportunity because of what we're doing here today," Wyman said.